


Everything But The Rain

by Cawerkuu



Category: Sekai-ichi Hatsukoi
Genre: Boss/Employee Relationship, Emotional Sex, Exes, F/F, First Love, Hurt/Comfort, Love Confessions, M/M, Mild Smut, Original Character(s), Trust Issues
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-03-13
Updated: 2019-03-13
Packaged: 2019-11-16 11:46:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,698
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18093692
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cawerkuu/pseuds/Cawerkuu
Summary: What if our /lovely/ sensei hadn't chosen to use the rain as a plot device to deceive Ritsu's confession from being heard? What would have happened? How would have it changed everything when it came to Haitani? Or with Nao? Would they have a healthier relationship? How would it affect their work life?I, the Amazing Caw, is here to answer the mind-wretching question. Thank you @nutton-of-tata for the inspiration.





	Everything But The Rain

**Author's Note:**

> thanks to @literally-ritsu for managing to put up with me while i died while writing this so cool.

Everything But The Rain

Chapter 1: The Rain

The rain was unexpected, the sudden downpour rushing down in a flash of lightning. The brown-haired male's shock quickly was thrown aside as his arms shot up to cover his bag and make sure none of his work got wet as he hurriedly dashed to a location to hide under. Spotting a building with a small but perfect headcover, he immediately found himself under there. 

'This sucks, I don't even have an umbrella! What am I going to do now?' He silently cursed, wishing for his luck to return quickly. He really needed it. He was already so deep in trouble for his off-behavior at work today. He just couldn't seem to pay attention, his mind just kept replaying that scene over and over.

"I actually hate Takano!"

'Ugh, stop thinking about it!' He reminded himself, shaking his head before hearing a violent achoo next to him. Flinching the sudden loud outburst, he gaped when seeing Takano stood a little under a few feet away from him underneath the same overhead. 'Luck, why do you curse me?!'

"Ah...T-Takano," He struggled to find the proper words to face his boss with. What was he to do? He had yet to figure out to explain himself. Wait? Did he need to?

It's better that Takano believes he hates him, isn't it? Then he would back off...he would stop this foolish behavior between them. The inconvenient advances towards Ritsu would still to an all-time low and finally, they could become subordinate and boss, just like the employee desired.

But for someone, Ritsu couldn't bear that thought. It sent his stomach flipping in a way that didn't settle right for him. It was sickening how the thought bubbled up and began to suffocate him with that idea of no longer meaning something to Takano of all people. Why did he have to be like this? He's an adult for crying out loud!

'But out of all the places!' Ritsu really has bad luck. He's determined that by now. 

"Where the hell did all this rain come from? You got an umbrella?" Takano cursed, his annoyance prevalent in his tone as he gently rubbed his nose. 

"U-um no clue..." Ritsu looked away from his boss, focusing his gaze down on the ground beneath them. He watches as the rain slammed harshly against the pavement. That looks nasty. He hoped it would lighten up soon... "I'm under here because I don't."

"Why are you even here?" Ritsu suddenly asked, his move surprising himself. "It's the complete opposite direction of the apartment building."

"Hatori said you were heading to the library," Takano said, looking forward towards the rushing water. "So I followed you."

'Does that mean...' He felt his heart race pick up in his ears. Oh, god. '...he wants to talk about it?'

What does he do? He's not ready! He's never been good at confrontation. Oh, this is bad. Crap, he can't run anywhere else for safety. 

"Achoo!" Takano let out another violent sneeze, causing concern to strike Ritsu's heart, much as he hates to admit it. 

"Umm," Ritsu stumbled. "Are you sure you've recovered from your cold? You don't seem it...What are you to do if your fever spikes back up?"

"God, you're annoying. It's nothing." Takano shook it off which did nothing to ease Ritsu's worries. 

"You took time off because it wasn't 'nothing'. If you don't feel well, j-just say so!" Ritsu felt the heat rise to his face, as it always seemed to whenever it involved Takano. "Seeing I'd be the one inconvenienced to you and all that..."

"Does that mean you'll stay by my bedside if I ask you?"

"N-no! J-just a check-in obviously!" Ritsu stumbled on his words, cursing his inability to process words properly whenever it came to talking to Takano. "It would just be a big problem if you died since I live next door!"

"Got it." Takano hummed. "I'll let you know next time."

'Wh...what's with that?' Ritsu found himself questioning, fiddling with the strap of his suitcase. He stayed past the dark brown bag and towards the gray gravel beneath them. 'He's always so straight-forward...he just makes it harder for me in the long end.' 

They stood there in silence for a few moments. All they heard was the own beat of their hearts, their shallow breaths, and the sound of the sprinting rain before them. Ritsu couldn't answer whether he enjoyed or hated that. 

"You know...I set Yokozawa straight earlier." Takano said suddenly, interrupting the moments of silent conversation.

"Huh?" Ritsu blurted out, blinking. He wasn't sure if he heard that right.

"I told him I can't date him because I'm in love with you."

His face was on fire. No, worse! An inferno! He stared shell-shocked at Takano as he went on to say his peace.

"It looks like he was placing all the blame of my breakdown on you when it wasn't like that at all," Takano said before contradicting himself. "...okay, well, maybe it's not completely like that. Hearing you had a fiancee and finding out that I wasn't related to my father by blood - basically, it was a bunch of crap dumped on me at once and I couldn't handle it." 

Ritsu just stared on and on, not sure what to say. "Eh...?" 

"Looking back now, I feel like none of it was worth breaking down so bad like that." Takano shrugged. "But...I was a stupid kid back then."

'He just easily dropped all of that in a conversation! I had no idea about his dad...' Ritsu stared down at the pieces of scattered gravel that had been tossed and thrown by the zooming water. 

"And also, I've been thinking about it on my own for a while..." Takano said. "You said that I snorted when you asked me if I loved you back then. The reason I didn't realize it was you at first when we met, I realized you never actually ever looked at me when we were kids. You were always blushing and looking down, even when we had sex."

"But-!" Ritsu squealed.

"Besides who would ever think that the naively innocent guy from ten years ago would grow into this hostile guy who just showed up."

"But that's-!" Oh god, this was so embarrassing! "I-I couldn't help that! I was so used to watching you afar...so couldn't bring myself to ever look at you! And plus, what does it matter? It's not like I fell in love with you for your looks!"

"Hm, I see...that's why." Takano hummed. 

'What do I do now?' Ritsu looked down at his shoes, noting how wet they were getting. Was the rain ever going to let up? 'I just learned so many things in one fell swoop...how do I handle it?'

"Oh and," Takano said. "Another reason why I didn't make the connection was that your last name changed."

"Eh?"

"Your parents...they're divorced, right?" 

"Huh?"

"I only realized when I saw your resume, it must've been tough," Takano spoke softly. "I would know after all."

Ritsu Onodera was just confused. His parents aren't divorced, at all! "I'm sorry? My parents are happily married? They have been for almost thirty years..." 

"Huh? But your name changed!"

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"When we were in school together, you were 'Oda', not 'Onodera'." 

Shock hit the man harder than this rain ever could. God, he was dying from embarrassment! Would the pain ever end?! 

"Ah, umm, you see..." He stumbled on his words, shuffling to the side shakily. 

"What?"

'Now I remember...' Ritsu squeezed his eyes closed, regretting this memory of his from his so naive days. 

'I had wanted to read all the books Saga-senpai had so I searched for them although the library...' He remembers himself vividly smiling like an idiot at the counter where you check out books before frowning. 'And when I went to write my name on the check-out card beneath his...'

"..." Oda Ritsu stared at the check-out card for a few moments, recognizing how weird this might seem. 'No matter how you look at this...he'll think I'm some type of stalker!'

'That's pretty gross, huh?' So the young and naive Ritsu shorten his surname to Oda to create his new identity. 

Takano stared and stared, his eyes widen and he was about to break that very moment. Ritsu, on the other hand, was ready and prepared. He knew the outburst was coming. It's a normal reaction for anyone really but even worse since it's Takano's.

"OI!" Takano yelled, his anger clear and stern through his tone. 

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" Ritsu yelled quickly, apologizing over and over for his foolish and embarrassing mistakes from the past. 

"What the hell?! You're telling me for the last ten years, I didn't even know your name?!" 

"I'm sorry, please just think of it as the flaw of youth! Trust me, I /really/ regret now myself!" Ritsu rebutted, wanting to shrink and crawl in a hole right then and there. 

'So that's why he was going on about my resume earlier,' Ritsu wanted to punch his past self as he hears Takano released a /highly/ annoyed sigh 'But still...this makes me look like a colossal idiot!'

"I see, that's why I couldn't find you no matter how hard I tried. 'Oda Ritsu'."

'Gah.' He felt the stab deep down in his gut. 

"S-so you did figure my name out by the check-out card?"

"I had to, you never told me!"

"O-oh, I d-didn't?"

"Argh geez! I haven't been this pissed in a long while! What the hell is your problem?!" Takano threw his head against the brick hell, heaving in fury. 

"I'm really sorry..." Ritsu muttered again before registering what Takano had said earlier. "But then...does that mean...you tried to find me?"

"Of course I did!" Takano said without an ounce of hesitation. He was always like that. He's always so confident and sure of himself in everything. "Well, my parents split up so I had to move to Shikoku with my mother so I was limited and didn't really have the chance to look right away."

'Even though I had been the one to misunderstand everything and run off,' Ritsu stared, astonished by Takano once again. 'He still looked for me.' 

"Umm," Ritsu became brave for once. Breathing in, he gathered all the courage he could in that moment. He couldn't let this go on for any more. He needed to clear it up or he could lose him again because of a misunderstanding he caused this time around. "W-when I said I hated you...well, that was in the heat of the moment. I don't really feel that way..."

"What is it then? How do you feel about me?" He asked, making Ritsu's heart flutter unfairly. 

"No, I mean," Ritsu stumbled again. Why was he so awkward? Especially when it comes to love? "You see..."

He heard Takano let out another sigh except this was one of disappointment. That couldn't do! 

"Oh right, there was one more thing I wanted to tell you," Takano said, giving Ritsu the mercy he needed right now. "I told this to Yokozawa But I need to tell you too. I'm not messing with you because I'm hung up on the past or anything like that. The past is the past and I'm fine with that..."

Ritsu gazed upon him. He waited for his words, unknowing what was to come. 

"The person I love is the present you," Takano met Ritsu's gaze finally, unknown to them, and there was this spark. There was a sudden connection, almost like two strings finally tying the knot and bringing all together. 

"Ah..."

Badump. Come on, you can do it, he repeated in his mind. 

"Umm,"

Badump. Don't get scared, he reminded himself. 

"Uh,"

Badump. Breathe, he told himself before grabbing the last bits of courage he has and clinging onto it. 

"I really do," He squeezed his eyes closed, his eyes going teary-eyed or was that the rain? He wasn't really sure anymore. "I really do love you!"

Takano was silent, grabbing onto his hand and looking at him like /that/. Ritsu couldn't really explain it. The expression held in his hazel eyes was one of gratitude almost, something pure in there almost like...love, and even relief. He looked like he was about to cry. Or was that the rain? Again he wasn't very sure. 

But one thing he was sure of was that Takano had heard him despite the bouts of harsh rain before them as he stepped closer to Ritsu, practically pressed up against the smaller boy. "I love you too, I've been waiting so long, Ritsu." 

He reached up, his cold hand clasping Ritsu's burning cheeks as he drew Ritsu's lips close to his but not pressing quite yet. He looked into Ritsu's vulnerable green orbs and spoke softly, his voice gently tickling Ritsu's mouth. "Ritsu, be mine this time? Don't run away. I won't allow it."

Instead of words, he nodded and pressed his lips against Takano. He greedily grabbed at Takano's shoulder blades as the older's slipped into his silky hair, pressing Ritsu completely between the wall and Takano. He was completely surrounded in the man he loves. He knew the brick building was cold against his back and Takano was getting drenched but he really didn't care. He just wanted more Takano. He wanted his feverish kisses that leave him breathless and his exploring hands that leave him aching for more afterward. 

He wanted Takano.

And he has him. 

They have each other. 

And maybe that's all they ever really need. 

-x-

He really should have expected it. This was Takano after all. Finding himself crowded against a wall and lips pressed passionately against his, he couldn't bear it in himself to hate it. After all, he's now Takano's boyfriend.

Boyfriend. Takano's boyfriend. It feels foreign on his tongue but it's not a bitter taste, no, quite the opposite. It feels sweet and inviting him for more. It was bewildering and it all felt like it was moving too fast. However, it felt like the perfect pace for them. Their relationship was always rapid and unpredictable and yet it was what they both wanted. 

His hands explored the chest of the brunette unlike he had done so many times before. This time it was slower, with a purpose in mind, and simple for the very pleasure of feeling all that Ritsu is. It made him feel a little self-conscious even if he was still fully clothed but it was that look Takano had, pure of adoration and bliss, that was making Ritsu's buzzed out brain think he could see through it all. It was scary but tempting.

Being in love means entrusting all of yourself within another person. Was he ready for that again? Much less with the same person all over again? 

Yes. Even if he never dared to repeat it out loud. He wanted to give himself completely into Takano, allow him to know his deepest desires. He needed it. He needed Takano. 

"W-we're wet," Ritsu gasped, gently pushing on Takano. It was a pathetic attempt to prolong what was coming, even he could see that clear as the night sky. Just because he confessed didn't mean his anxiousness disappeared. If anything, it increased. "W-we'll get sick..."

"Then I can take care of you," Takano smiled sweetly. Despite the rare sight of it, it suited him. He really liked seeing it. He wanted to memorize it. He hopes to see it more in the upcoming days. 

"Don't be ridiculous!" Ritsu flushed bright red. Everything was so heated and yet so slow and purposeful, it was driving him insane. Takano's icy fingers trailing along his fiery damp skin sending shivers and shudders in his wake. He let himself be pushed towards his bedroom, ignoring what a real mess the said was. He was never a good cleaner. 

"I'm serious, just give me the call any day and I'll be by your bedside." Takano was smiling still, making Ritsu's heart flutter in a way he didn't except. That's a lie, actually. Takano does that to him. He makes him react and do things that no other could drive him too. He stared up dazedly as his lover slowly slit the plastic buttons through, allowing the shirt to expose his chest. 

This was so different. It wasn't the urge to reach a high of pleasure. No, this was about them and their love. It seems so crazy to think about that and yet they were here, spread on Ritsu's bed as the ravenette slowly stripped the petite boy out of the soaked clothing. 

"I love you," The warmth seeping through his skin from the little puffs of breath on his neck was going to kill him. His neck was always sensitive. It's why he never wore a turtleneck to work since they tend to be itchy. Takano's hands traveled up and down his arms, dragging their way across his collarbone and traveling downward to explore the same torso he's seen far more than Ritsu cares to admit but he can't deny him, especially not when Takano looks at him like he's the most precious thing ever, so happy and content with his life at this moment. 

No other thoughts invading their minds, casting doubt on this. No, this was just them. All they could feel was the love seeping through each contact of skin to skin and becoming content with the sounds of each other's breathing and heartbeats. 

"I-" Ritsu choked, tears beginning to burn his eyes. He gathered the courage to gently grasp Takano's face, tilting it up for their eyes to lock. "I love you too, I always had. I'm so sorry-"

"No, don't," Takano whispered, tangling his fingers into the light locks of the man beneath him. "Don't apologize, not now, not ever. You did what you thought as best even if meant trying to break my face."

"Pfft," Ritsu's face scrunched up, making him bite his lip a little. He let out a little laugh, the warmth of happiness encasing his heart. He let his hands slid away from Takano's cold cheeks - probably from the weather - and slid his arms around Takano's neck. He gently grasped the shoulder blades, rubbing his thumb soothingly. He threw his head back, letting himself fall against the sheets, smiling up at the man hovering over him. "You're ridiculous. We're ridiculous, oh my god."

"You're right, we are." Takano grinned, gently skimming his fingers to Ritsu's waistline, toying with the button. He watched in delight as his boyfriend squirmed a little, yearning for the release of the tight jeans. Thankfully, the ravenette seemed to take mercy on him - or maybe he was wanting Ritsu just as much as the brunette wants him - and unbuttoned the dark soaked jeans, happily dragging them down his slick skin. "But I don't care. I just want you."

His heart will not survive long with Takano like this. He's aware of this and he makes a mental note to start planning his funeral after this. He's completely at the mercy of this man and he can't find a bone in his body that is against that. 

He becomes brave for the third time today. How strange, did he drink something bad today? He usually isn't so impulsive. However, that thought escapes him as he tugs on the hem of Takano's shirt, signaling he wants it off.

"C-clothes," He figures he should say it with words too. Proper communication and all that. Yeah. 

Takano just continues to smile, throwing his shirt off his body and into the heap on the floor near the bed in the clutter of Ritsu's research. He happily grabs Ritsu's legs, pulling the brunette flushed against him. The man under him lets out a surprised gasp, his face flushing a rosy pink that Takano loves to cause but doesn't say a word, looking up at Takano, awaiting his next move. He is certainly going to make it.

Ritsu is under him, flushed a beautiful shade of pink, panting, and clearly desiring him, even with words! You don't get that every day. This is a once of a lifetime opportunity, okay? He'll be damned if he's going to let it escape him. 

Discarding his soaked jeans, he looks down at Ritsu who's shyly spread for him. It's a sight that makes him smile. Ritsu is his. It's so obvious with the way he's looking up at Takano like he has all the answers in the world. He grins, dipping his thumbs into the boxers and pulls them down Ritsu's plush legs. God, his legs. Look at those hips!

He's getting sidetrack. He can't do that now, especially not with Ritsu squishing his face into the pillow underneath his head, trembling in his hold. Now, that isn't allowed. It's not very fair if you ask him.

"No, look at me." He gently pinches Ritsu as a punishment, thriving in the way Ritsu squeaks and jolts, his eyes snapping wide to gasp at him. He'll have to remember that for a later date. He draws his own dark boxers down his legs, watching with joy at how breathless and pliant Ritsu looks in his arms. 

He gently rubs his fingers up and down the male's body. He wants to worship it all, spend the next few hours kissing and praising it all but he knows Ritsu hasn't been sleeping well in the last few days. That's obvious by the dark circles underneath his eyes that Takano is determined to remove even if he is the cause of it. 

"You okay?" He asks gently, rubbing his thumb encouragingly into Ritsu's thigh. "Are you sure you want to do this?"

He's not a monster. He won't force Ritsu into something he doesn't want. He was too brash, too fast and that caused a wedge between them that he never wanted to make. He knows this as fact and he'll spend the rest of his life regretting it and making up for it. 

"Please," Ritsu nods, breathing in deeply as Takano reaches over him, dragging the wooden drawer open. He wraps his fingers around the blue bottle. 

"It's half-way gone," Takano remarks.

"Shut up!" Ritsu whines, blushing brightly.

"Since you asked so nicely," Takano snickers, uncapping the bottle of lube and squirting it on his fingers. He began to warm up the liquid spread across his fingers. While sure, he was aching for his own release, he didn't want to focus on that right now. 

He wanted to focus on Ritsu.

He waited and waited and while not patiently, he was still rewarded with something he thought he would never achieve. He got Ritsu back. He was able to win over the love of his life again and bring the man back in his arms after he was deserted from him for a decade.

A flipping decade. How is it that even after ten years of being separated and trying to forget and move on over a nosy underclassman that he can still love the stalker with the same, if not more, warmth spreading through his entire body like a tingle. He can't deny and he would be crazy to deny the clutching feeling in his heart every time he looks Ritsu's way. It's not surprising really. Ritsu is his everything.

He always has been. 

Gently, he leaned over and pressed his lips against Ritsu's again. His finger slowly caressed the sensitive skin of the brunette's inner thigh as it made its way to where he wanted it most. He relished in the small little hitches of his lover's breaths as he slowly pushed in. 

He took his time with the man underneath him, gently pushing and touching inside of Ritsu. He didn't want to rush this. All those others time were trying to hold Ritsu for as long as he could. He didn't want to let him go for fear of losing him again like he did that fateful day he made the most stupid mistake of his life that left them both in a rough patch that neither could move on from. 

His soft warm lips were sending something through Takano that was addictive and compulsive to the touch. He felt like he was being dragged in with each exploration of his lover's body. It was so soft and so warm in his hands, pressed against his own in a way Takano had been yearning for years. God, he waited so long.

"Takano," Ritsu gasped, clinging to the ravenette as he shuddered and shook against the sheets. The tears forming in the corners of his eyes from the gentleness was Takano was giving him, focusing all of his attention on solely him. 

"I love you," Takano whispered in his ear, gently prepping kisses downward. He gently kissed down the skin, developing a new love for Ritsu's hypersensitive, making his beloved react in ways that only drove Takano further to giving him all the pleasures he deserved. 

Ritsu felt like crying. Takano...he was being so gentle and acting like Ritsu was the most precious object on this earth that deserved every praise there was on this earth. His soft caresses and his warm breath trickling down his skin and seeping deep into skin to be remembered and desired secretly later on.

"I love you so much," Takano whispered, making everything seem so much intimate. 

"Please," He begged, drawing Takano closer than possible. "I want you. Make me yours."

"All you ever have to do is ask," Takano kissed his forehead, clasping underneath the male's knee and hooked them on his hip. The brunette seemed to get the hint and locked his legs around Takano, making the ravenette smile at the sight again. He gently eased himself into his lover, joining their bodies as one. 

Ritsu gasped, looking up at Takano. God, this was so different than all the times before. Ritsu knew he was probably repeating himself over and over again but goddamn it, he didn't care. 

Gently, their bodies moved together as one. This wasn't about reaching some high or clinging on fragments of the past. No, this was them and forces on each other. It was the closest they could get in expressing their love physically.

Words aren't easy. They never really were but thankfully the clinging closeness of each other seem to say all the unheard whispers and promises they held for each other. 

"I-" Ritsu choked, reveling in the warmth and pleasure of being so close and knit to Takano. Never in a million years would he have thought he would be here today, completely and utterly surrounded in the man he once loved. 

No, in the arms of the man he loves despite their tragic and cursed past. He doesn't regret ever falling in love with Takano, no. What he regrets is being irrational and not being brave enough in his naive years to try and build proper communication with the broken teenager that Takano was back then. He knows he was stupid and it hurt them badly, so much that they are reunited in the worst of ways in a twist of fate.

But that's okay because they're here now, together in each other's arm ready to try once more. The thought would make Ritsu smile later on at the thought despite his brash and distant personality that almost makes him act like a tsundere from one of the manga that he had to read when he first started up at Marukawa. He knows that one day it may become a bit much, he knows he's going to need to push past his nature to able to work with Takano as a healthy couple does.

A couple. 

Ritsu likes the sound of that, he can't bear the thought of letting Takano go now that he has him. He was stupid and unbelievably naive to believe he would never fall for this man again. It seems like perhaps he really hasn't changed that much.

Still as stupid and green.

"I love you," He croaks out, allowing himself to cry as Takano holds him tighter. 

"I love you, I love you," Takano chants like a chorus. Ritsu thinks he would like that song. "I have always loved you, I won't let you go."

And then like that with a slapsh of white, sweaty skin, and tired bones, they both collapse against the mattress. Ritsu doesn't want to admit but the rapid panting in his ear as his lover tries to regain his breath is pleasurable to no end in his heart. 

"Ah," Ritsu groans into his pillow as Takano slides out. He watches with dazed eyes as Takano stands up - bare naked and all - and heads out the bedroom. Where is he going? 

The fear of him leaving, of everything being a lie sets in. Oh, god was this really just a hoax to lead him in? Oh god, oh god, oh go-

"Here, lay back down," Takano whispers reassuringly as he reenters the room..with tissues? Surprising even himself, he listens to his boss. He tries to let everything soak in. Reality seems more like a dream at this moment. He flinches as the gentle softness of the tissue wipes down his tired body. 

Well, he wasn't expecting that to happen. He's silent as Takano gently massages his skin soothingly as he drags the material down his soaked body. God, he really does sweat a lot. 

"You okay? Does it hurt anyway?" Takano whispers gently in his ear. He thinks for a moment and realizes that the soreness he usually complains about in the morning sets in at, well, the morning. 

"Mmh, not yet." He mutters sleepily, noting the wave of exhaustion hitting him like a ton of bricks. He hears the shuffling of the sheet under him as Takano lays beside him, gently guiding the brunette to face his employer who has a sweeten gaze on his faze. He really likes that expression. 

"Okay, I'll make you breakfast in the morning, alright?" Takano says, rubbing his hands up and down Ritsu's back soothingly, hopefully, to ease the muscles pain in the morning. 

"Mm," Ritsu agrees, burying his face in Takano's inviting shoulder. "I want pancakes,"

"Bossy." Takano chuckles, grabbing the cover that was discarded at some point in time and dragging it over their tangled limbs. 

"Like you have any room to talk," The younger mumbles, making Takano's eyes roll. 

"It's kind of my job," He says with a smirk and that cocky tone of his. He holds Ritsu close as he can and whispers, "Sleep love."

Ritsu doesn't fight him and closes his eyes. 

-x-

"Ritsu," A voice says, gently threading their fingers through his silky locks. He likes that. He's never had a head pat before and he thinks he wants it more now. Begrudgingly, he slowly peels open his eyes to meet the gaze of a dressed Takano. "Come on, breakfast."

What-

Oh. Right. He confessed.

He feels face warm up at the reminder but finds it melting at the emotional gaze he meets. He can't find it in himself to care at that moment. He doesn't peep a word but nods into the pillow. He enjoys the smile that continues to grace Takano's lip as he leaves the room to give his newfound boyfriend some room to dress alone his.

Ritsu is a little surprised at the courtesy. Where was that three days ago? 

He groans as he sits up, feeling a tiny sting but unlike the others, isn't very prevalent. He's surprised. Wow, Takano really did take care of him last night.

The thought makes him blush again before he shakes his head, throwing his feet over the side of the bed and standing up in search for clean clothes in his drawer hopefully. Much to his pleasure, he finds that he did, indeed, do the laundry at some point last week and so he throws on a button-up, his favorite yellow sweater, and a pair of black slacks.

He finds himself hesitant and anxious as he approaches to open the bedroom door. He's scared. No, that's an understatement.

He's terrified of what will happen next. How is he supposed to act now? He's confessed, he's agreed to be Takano's boyfriend...what happens now? Do they just get an automatic happy ending?

'Yeah right,' He mentally scoffs at the idea.

He's an adult for Christ's sake. He didn't just impulsively make that decision. He knew somewhere deep inside him what would be the consequences and he still made his choice.

Does he regret that choice? Hell no. 

"Took you long ago," Takano smirks when he enters the kitchen where he has two plates sat across from each other. He watches as Takano sits down two mugs of dark liquids.

'Obviously coffee,' His mind taunts him for his stupidity. 

"S-sorry," He mutters, not sure what to say. This is all so strange and new for him. He's not really sure how to react if he's being honest. He's never been good at love or relationships.

Seemingly, Takano takes notice of this. "Don't stress out, I'm not expecting you to jump in my arms and confess all the love you have for me deep down. Although, I wouldn't be opposed to it."

"Huh-?!" Ritsu's face grows warm faster than he excepts but then again, Takano throws him off the rails for everything. He narrows his brow, glaring at his superior.

"See, that's more like you." Takano snorts, taking pride in how easily he can rile Ritsu up. "Now come eat breakfast with me before I feed you myself."

"No thank you!" He replies, sitting down across from him quickly. He glares at Takano as he picks up a knife and fork. 

"You've always been cute when you're angry," Takano says with a grin. 

"I-" Ritsu nearly chokes on air while cutting the breakfast dish. "You don't know what you're talking about!"


End file.
